Now, you may think it a little strange for a girly to write about a motorcycle..... However, I have a very interesting slant on things...... NO testosterone injected views!

Being a little on the 'undertall' side, I have to limit my choice of motorcycles to either 'sit up and beg' types to 'homemade' to 'step throughs' (aaaaggghhh). However, after reading a magazine called 'greybike' a few years ago, I realised that these weren't the only choices I had.

Little bikes with big bite for little people! - cool! It's all quite obvious really, buy 2nd hand from shorter people.... Yep, the chinese market (i'm allowed to say that being only 5'2" tall, hehehe

Gray Importers have started to make a brilliant in-road to our UK market, bring cheaper well known brands like the little tiger I bought (Suzuki 400v Bandit) to scary bigger bikes like the Honda GV1400 Cavalcade at even better prices.

As the market over in China changes it's motorcycle style obsession every year (just like getting the new years reg car over here) I thought that I might as well get in on the act and save myself a few pennies too!.

My baby :- a beautiful black 400cc bandit with all the extras you could shake a stick at eg. red disc brakes, tear-drop wing mirrors, 2 stainless steel clocks, and nice deco on the rear (oooohhhh).

it went from 0 - 60 in about 4 1/2 seconds and the top speed was about..... 118mph, more than enough for any-one including the mental among us!! soo flippable, soo light, soo sexy!

I fell in love at first outing, as when I pulled up at the lights in the center of Bristol, I got my first ever wave from a litre!!!! (to those non-bikers among you, that's v.v. unusual) I could put my foot down without having to shift my bum over to the left too.

Bimbling around town in top gear was no problem, and forget about downshifting, overtaking is accompl
ished with the merest flick of the right wrist. The suspension is truly sharp, although, having an 11 stone bloke on the back, made it very easy to put both my entire feet down!

OK, it's not a race-rep, but it'll still beat a 600cc ZZR off the lights (well, up until 400 yards!) but it makes no pretence at being a RR - this is the pure beauty of it.

It provides an effortless package which distresses neither its rider or itself no matter what the conditions, and allows for very smooth and very rapid progress.

The riding position was very natural, you're not lying on top, holding on, you're controlling it, it does help not having squishy bits in front of you! *winks* The footrests are at just about the right height and far enough back too.

Every thing the big bandits can do, the small rather petite 400v can do too! just you watch! (and you get more looks from passers by with those little red brake discs!)

As the bandit has no plastic stuff hanging on it, I would say it's a good starter bike for any newbie, because once you've dropped it (at filling stations, etc.) you've nothing to buy except for maybe a clutch lever, it also gives you the speed that a newbie biker will need.

I sold mine to my best bud, this is one thing I suggest you never do, because she promptly scraped the back cowling trying to reverse it into a garage!, she also changed the weights on the handlebars to purple, (nice colour, but horrid handling) and all I wanted to do is rescue it!

The reason I sold it was because I had a bf who couldn't ride, and I never got to go on her, she needed a blast every weekend and I couldn't exactly do a round trip to Weymouth every weekend without the bf..... could I?

If you're a biker, a little 'undertall' but still like the finer things in life, pop along to your local gray importers, you'll enjoy, I know, I did.....